POLITICS
Representative of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on special assignments pays working visit to Slovenia
13.04.2024 [00:34]
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 Vienna, April 12, AZERTAC

The representative of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on special assignments, Elchin Amirbayov, has completed a visit to Slovenia.

According to AZERTAC, during the visit meetings were held with the Advisor to the President of the Republic of Slovenia on International Relations, Zlatko Sabic, , the Vice President of the National Assembly, Daniel Krivets, and the Director-General Directorate for Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Mateja Norčič Štamcar.

During the meetings, the Slovenian side once again congratulated President Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of victory in the election held in Azerbaijan on February 7.

The sides expressed their satisfaction with the current level of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Slovenia. Referring to the fact that the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries would be marked in 2026, the sides emphasized the importance of further developing cooperation in a number of potential fields, including economic and energy sectors, strengthening political dialogue, and exchanging visits. In this regard, the sides recalled with pleasure the visit of the Minister of Environment, Climate and Energy of Slovenia to Azerbaijan to participate in the 10th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and 2nd Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting held in Baku in March this year.

Touching upon the parliamentary dimension of cooperation, it was noted that the stepped up contacts between friendship groups of both parliaments and reciprocal visits would contribute to the strengthening of bilateral relations. At the same time, the sides stressed the importance of demonstrating mutual support within multilateral international parliamentary platforms.

The Slovenian side was congratulated on the occasion of its election as a nonpermanent member of the UN Security Council and the beginning of the exercise of its powers. The parties exchanged views on the cooperation between the two countries within the framework of international organizations.

During the meetings, they also discussed the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will be hosted by Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan’s relations with the European Union, and issues on the regional and international agenda.

The Slovenian side conveyed its congratulations to Azerbaijan on the occasion of hosting COP29, emphasized that the climate conference was of great importance due to the changes observed in the world, and noted that it was ready to cooperate closely with the Azerbaijani side in preparation for the COP29.

A letter of invitation from the President of Azerbaijan to the President of Slovenia regarding the mentioned event was delivered during the visit.

The special envoy of the President of Azerbaijan informed the Slovenian side in detail about the progress of negotiations on the normalization and peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the current situation, and the efforts Azerbaijan was making to advance the peace process. Noting that this was a historic opportunity for the establishment of lasting peace and stability in the region, he said that Armenia should refrain from contradictory statements and provocative steps and respect the norms and principles of international law in order to prove that it was serious about the peace process. At the same time, it was stated that the creation of military infrastructure in borderline territories with Azerbaijan, the promotion of militarism in the region, the trilateral meeting in Brussels on April 5, 2024, the arming of Armenia through the European peace facility at the expense of the US budget, which may lead to the creation of dividing lines and further tensions in the region, as well as the provocative, non-transparent and non-inclusive initiatives and steps, were unacceptable as they did not contribute to the achievement of sustainable peace in the region.

During the meetings, the sides touched upon the legacy of Mehdi Huseynzade's “Mikhaylo”, which plays the role of a special bond between the two peoples and acts a symbol of friendship. The Azerbaijani side expressed its gratitude to Slovenia for the great respect for the memory of the hero, the kind and friendly attitude, as well as state-level events organized on an annual basis.

Within the framework of the visit, Elchin Amirbayov gave an interview to the “Dnevik” news show on RTV SLO (TV Slovenija 1), the leading channel of Slovenian television, and the “Delo” newspaper, one of the most influential companies of the Slovenian media market.

Elgun Niftali

AZERTAC special correspondent

Vienna